The Journal provides minute-by-minute analysis of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship between Louisville and Michigan. Pete McEntegart offers commentary on the game and the CBS telecast, while Sam Walker contributes from New York and Dennis Berman, Rachel Bachman, and Ben Cohen contribute from the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

The 68 teams that started play less than three weeks ago in the still-awkward First Four have been whittled down to Louisville and Michigan. Around the time Monday turns to Tuesday on the East Coast, the college basketball world will have crowned a new champion after the latest edition of the greatest annual tournament in sports. (Easy, World Cup fans– we said “annual.”)

This is a title-game matchup that should be prized by both traditionalists and stat-heads. The traditionalists will applaud the presence of two name-brand schools – the Cinderellas have cleared the stage, while those that genuflect at the altar of Ken Pomeroy will note that the Wolverines have the nation’s top-ranked offense (according to Pomeroy’s efficiency measure) and the Cardinals are No. 1 on defense.

Louisville thrives by creating turnovers through its dogged press and turning them into instant offense, particularly when quicksilver guard Russ “Russdiculous” Smith gets loose in the open floor. But the Cardinals looked very ordinary for long stretches against Wichita State in Saturday’s semifinal as the Shockers generally did a terrific job holding onto the basketball until the final, frantic minutes. Without turnovers fueling the break, the Cardinals often appeared stagnant in the halfcourt.

Michigan has a bevy of strong ball-handlers, led by Wooden Award-winning point guard Trey Burke, to handle and even attack the press. Burke struggled mightily (seven points on 1-of-8 shooting) in the semi against Syracuse, but he was bailed out in part by freshman big man Mitch McGary, who has exploded onto the national scene during the tournament after starting just two games during the regular season. McGary logged 10 points, 12 rebounds and six assists against the Orange, and his ability to pass and handle the ball could loom large in breaking the Louisville press and leading to easy baskets.

For the neutral fan, it’s also good news that both of these teams generally like to play at a high tempo. We should be spared the defensive slugfests that have seemed to plague recent NCAA finals, even with the tougher shooting conditions of a cavernous dome designed for football rather than firing 3-pointers. So while only one team will be cutting down the nets tonight, a well-played, high-scoring game would make winners of us all. Hey, a fella can dream.

Crowds walking into the dome are pretty evenly split. But the yellow of the Michigan fans is more visible than the red of Louisville. Alternating chants of C-A-R-D-S and Go Blue. Wonderful crisp temperatures and a good natured mood. In all, a wonderful day to crown a champion.

The most interesting thing about the secondary market for this game is that tickets for tonight actually got more expensive, not less expensive, once Syracuse, Wichita State and their fan bases went home Saturday night. The average price for Monday tickets sat between $300 and $400 last week and surged above $600 yesterday, according to SeatGeek data. Over the last 24 hours, the average price paid was $783. The get-in-the-door price at last year’s Final Four in New Orleans was $35. SeatGeek had the cheapest ticket this year at a steep $215—or, as every Michigan and Louisville fan not in the Georgia Dome calls it, a healthy bar tab.

I have two favorite players on Louisville. One, Russ Smith, is going to play a lot. If you’re looking for more reading on him, here’s our story from December about his avant-garde relationship with Louisville coach Rick Pitino. It basically comes down to this: “Coach likes things to run his way, and the way I play sometimes isn’t coachable.” Also highly recommended is the Louisville blog Card Chronicle’s “Top 153 Russ Smith Things of 2011-2012 Season.”

My other favorite, Michael Baffour, is not going to play a lot. As fun a story as Smith’s is — two-star guard from Brooklyn who is now Louisville’s leading scorer and holds tea parties in Waffle House — Baffour’s is far funnier. He walked on to the team as a junior more or less because he was Smith’s best friend. Also, his nickname is Dark Slime.

Michigan’s secret weapon tonight: a former Harlem Globetrotter turned assistant coach. As we reported last month, Bacari Alexander is Michigan’s motivational speaker, who once used a nutcracker before an Ohio State game. He squeezed the pulp out of oranges before Michigan beat Syracuse on Saturday. Let’s just no birds are slaughtered in the making of tonight’s games.

All the talk right now is about Louisville’s defense and Michigan’s offense, both ranked No. 1 in the country. Everyone seems to have forgotten that Michigan’s defense sometimes is kind of terrible? The Wolverines rank 32nd in defensive efficiency, according to kenpom.com, which would make them the worst defensive team in the last decade. Then there’s Louisville, which would almost certainly be the best defensive national champion of the last decade.

This is the first time I’ve ever covered a major sporting event. Sitting inside the massive underground press room here, I feel like I’m at a bad trade show. Sports, destiny, history — they all are literally and figuratively miles away in this wretched stadium for basketball.

One of the underrated plots of tonight’s game — and by underrated I mean totally ignored for good reason everywhere except my brain — is the song that the winning band will play. Louisville has “My Old Kentucky Home,” which will never, ever be the same for anyone who saw the episode of “Mad Men” when Roger Sterling offers his own rendition. As for Michigan, there’s a rumor it has some fight song whose name I don’t recall and whose melody definitely has not been stuck in my head for three days.

Here’s my prediction for tonight’s game: The two pairs of excellent guards cancel each other out. The difference will be Louisville’s front court — which despite McGary — is superior to Michigan’s across the back three and with subs. My prediction: Louisville 72, Michigan 67. Then again, I’m an absolute Louisville homer.

Editor’s note: Dennis and Sam, both section editors here at WSJ and die-hard fans of Louisville and Michigan, respectively, took some time out today to film this preview of tonight’s matchup (and reveal their biases).

It’s funny that the dome has gotten ragged on particularly this year, even though the Final Four has been held in domes for years. Last fall the new NCAA VP in charge of the tourney, Mark Lewis, floated the idea of going back to arenas and basketball purists swooned. But months later, NCAA officials told me that arenas are a longshot due to how many tickets are promised to various interests — corporate, coaches, each school’s fan bases, etc.

Dennis, your analysis is solid, but there’s one giant 6-foot-10 hole in it: if Michigan’s Mitch McGary can avoid foul trouble, he’s going to distract that vaunted frontcourt of yours. Even if he has just an average game in the post, he’s going to open up looks for Michigan’s 3-point shooters, who will create a cascading downpour of orange Spaldings upon thine heads.

Michigan might make this close with lousy work from the foul line, but they’ll pull it out with clutch shooting. I’ll go Michigan 69-65, with a side of cole slaw and biscuits.

“This is it, guys,” Gorgui Dieng says as walks out of the locker room. He cedes the rest of the pregame speech to a quiet Kevin Ware. But then Michigan comes out with a call and response routine right out of “Remember the Titans” that ends with four words: “let’s make it nasty!” Michigan wins pregame in a blowout.

I’m setting the over-under on CBS camera shots of injured Louisville player Kevin Watre sitting on the bench at 25.

Which raises a question: If Florida Gulf Coast had somehow reached the title game, who would have received more TV time? Ware, or the wife of (now former) FGCU coach Andy Enfield, aka Swimsuit Model Amanda Enfield? At least that would have determined what sports fans like more, or at least what networks think sports fans like more — an inspirational story, or a swimsuit model. (The answer, of course, is a swimsuit model with an inspirational story.)

Travis Tritt is singing the national anthem here in Atlanta. It won’t be long now.

For some context, Michigan is still under a 10-year self-imposed disassociation from Webber, who the NCAA found took money from a booster. That period ends May 8, but the school hasn’t said what it will do then.

There are about five empty rows at the back of the Michigan student section. Louisville’s student section is basically full. Points for the “In Russ We Trust” sign, too, especially compared to Michigan’s equivalent: “Marry Me, McGary.”

I actually saw Trey Burke taking the escalator in our hotel this morning. “You the man!” a Michigan fan yelled. Burke already has seven points, his total from Saturday, and definitely does look like the man.

Burke muscles in another drive for seven quick points. That’s answered by Wayne Blackshear, who has all 5 points for the Cardinals. End-to-end start. Now Smith drives coast-to-coast and lays it in in traffic.

Opening thoughts: Both teams looking pretty impressive. Burke might even be a step quicker than Siva, which seems to violate the laws of physics. I’d still say run-and-gun style favors Louisville in the long run. Better subs and better conditioned.

We enter the first TV timeout after a frenetic, back-and-forth start. Michigan will have the ball after a foul away from the ball waved off a basket. Terrific start from Burke, who struggled so mightily on Saturday vs. Syracuse. But both teams have shown a willingness to push the ball. This could be a fun night, if a very tiring blog.

Who’s wearing the better beanie: Chris Webber, or Tim Hardaway? Is there beef between the two because Webber went with wool and Hardaway’s had that look on lock the whole season? Also, it’s like, 80 degrees out, aren’t they hot?

Best thing about watching game in person: You don’t have to watch any of those terrible commercials. Goodbye forever Capital One! Goodbye forever NCIS: Los Angeles! Goodbye forever various car companies!

Wolverines freshman Spike Albrecht nails a 3-pointer, his sixth in six tries this tournament. Dieng answers with a jumper for the Cards, before a Glenn Robinson bucket for UM. Next a jam from Chace Behanan for UL. I can’t keep up! Now it’s frosh breakout McGary with a bucket. And another Albrecht 3! 7-for-7! Furious action!

Albrecht is unconscious… When I said Michigan would bring a rain of Spaldings, I didn’t think they would bring it from seven feet behind the arc. Great game so far. Hope the end is as pacey as the beginning…

The good news for Louisville fans: Louisville’s press and defense is meant to wear teams down, allowing the Cardinals to pounce (do Cardinals pounce?) in the second half. The even better news is that Michigan really is getting its nasty on — and is two Russ Smith threes away from falling behind.

Albrecht again! From like 30 feet away. This guy can’t miss. That’s 9 points in like 8 seconds (OK, a few minutes).

But UL point guard Peyton Siva answers with a quick drive and score. That sends us to the under-12 timeout. Albrecht and Burke (who actually sat down with his first foul and was replaced by Albrecht) have been lights-out, but the Cards aren’t melting like Florida did vs. Michigan in the regional final.

Huge three by Stauskas to get Michigan’s lead to eight. They’re not only hanging in there without Burke — they’ve actually managed to cushion the lead, which buys John Beilein more time to keep Burke on the bench.

Albrecht again, this time on a terrific drive and finger-roll. Now Albrecht picks it up off the floor after a block and starts a break from his back, which is finished by a 3 from Stauskas. Now Albrecht gets his shot blocked by Dieng but is fouled (so he’s still perfect from the field) and hits 1 of 2. What a show by this kid so far.

Dieng cracks a Michigan zone with a terrific pass from the high post for an easy jam for a teammate. Smith tries for a steal against the Burke-less Michigan backcourt but is whistled for a foul. That brings up the under-8 timeout. Does Burke stay on the bench the rest of the half?

Just like they were against Wichita State, the Cardinals are incredibly vulnerable on the offensive glass, where they rank 242nd in terms of defensive rebounding rate. Michigan isn’t a great offensive rebounding team, but the Wolverines already have five offensive rebounds tonight and eight points off those second chances.

Guess who — Abrecht! He goes behind his back about 27 feet away, pulls up, and lets fly. Do I have to say what the result was? That’s right, nothing but net! Shades of Syracuse freshman Gerry McNamara in the first half of the 2003 final. But McNamara was a starter, not a reserve averaging 1.8 ppg.

The 5-11 Albrecht somehow weaves his way to the hoop and flips one in over his head, almost casually. I think Pitino actually called timeout rather than wait for the under-4 break, because his squad has no answer for Spike Albrecht right now. For some reason, I missed that angle in the pregame analysis. Albrecht already has 17 points. His previous career high: 7.

Dennis Berman in cold panic STOP saddlebags developing under his armpits STOP must remind him that his team is capable of erasing 10-point deficits in 4 seconds flat STOP suggest halftime bourbon bender.

O.K., here’s the under-4 timeout after a Michigan non-shooting foul. I believe Pitino is now telling walk-on guard Tim Henderson, the unsung hero of Saturday’s semi against Wichita State with his two straight 3s, that his new name is “Spike.”

It actually was a shooting foul, and Hancock made both shots. Then the Cards applied the press, but Hardaway dribbled the length of the floor and laid it in. Well, that’s one way to beat the press. Dieng grabs an offensive board and calls time as he rolls around on the floor.

After the timeout, Hancock hits a huge 3 to cut the deficit to single figures.

Hancock is scary. Reminds me of the creepy groundskeeper-turned-slasher in a horror movie. Open the closet, there he is. Open the shower curtain, there he is. Get in your car and speed away, Hancock is in the back seat.

Robinson III hits two free throws with 2.5 seconds left before Siva’s heave at the buzzer almost, but doesn’t quite, go down. Wolverines lead by one at intermission but Louisville has made things very interesting with a 14-3 run to close the first half. This has been great fun. Let’s hope it keeps up for another 20 minutes.

The Nielsen rating for the 1992 Michigan-Duke NCAA final was a massive 34.3. Can’t believe this game will top that, but I think it’s going to do a lot better than last year, when Kentucky-Kansas pulled a pedestrian 12.3 overnight.

Watching Hancock replays on the massive jumbotron I am struck by how little he gets off the ground on his “jump” shot. I think I may even get off the ground more than him, and I play literal Old Man YMCA ball.

Blackshear hits a quick 3 for Louisville, but Robinson answers with a long 2. Russdiculous starts the half on the bench, and nobody is sure why. “Coaching decision,” says Tracy Wolfson, not an injury. Hmmm.

Jalen Rose, wearing a blue suit over a white shirt and yellow-and-blue tie, just held court right off the court. He said he hadn’t physically seen Webber in the building, and Webber hadn’t told him he was coming, but someone from his camp had informed Rose that the fifth member of the Fab Five would be in the Georgia Dome. He said he was planning to see Webber after the game. As for the Fab Five’s enduring legacy, even 20 years later, Rose summed up the quintet’s appeal this way: “What’s compelling sometimes is not necessarily about wins and losses.”

McGary niftily slips a screen and ducks down low, taking a nice feed from Hardaway for a strong post-up and bucket. Pitino calls a quick timeout, presumably to tell his team not to leave McGary open like that. At halftime Charles (i.e. Barkley) was saying the Wolverines need to start feeding McGary. Maybe both teams were watching.

I keep thinking these teams are getting ready to gear down and run some half-court sets. Then they push the pace. Then there’s a sharp pass into the paint. Then it’s the Kentucky Derby all over again. I have no idea who’s going to win.

We enter the under-16 timeout with a continued high level of play, if not as many points per minute. Stauskas just had his dribble picked by Siva from behind, then hustled after him to steal the ball back, and flung it from flat on his own back to Burke, who was fouled by Siva before he could attempt to finish the break. Excellent back-and-forth action.

Russ Smith, who has at least 20 points in every NCAA tournament game, is on the bench with four points on 1-of-9 shooting and Louisville’s up in the second half. Pretty similar to last year’s national championship, when Anthony Davis went scoreless for the first 30 minutes and the Wildcats still cut down the nets.

This is the first time all tournament that Russ Smith has been Russdiculous in a bad way. He just forced another miss — he’s now 1-for-10 — and as heretical as it sounds Pitino might have to bench his leading scorer to win this game.

And that’s why he’s Russdiculous. Smith is blissfully unaware that he’s had his worst game of the season and drills a three-pointer from the corner to give Louisville a five-point lead, its biggest of the game. Watch him get his 20 points now after all.

Behanan gets an offensive board inside and is fouled by McGary. That’s McGary’s third, and he takes a seat. Behanan hits both shots. The Cards are doing a much better job on the glass this half. Now Smith hits a 3 from the baseline after another forced turnover. Lead is five. Hardaway gets a bucket back on a goaltend by Dieng, but Behanan tips one in after another offensive board.

Burke splashes another trifecta from about 28 feet off a high screen-and-roll on the left wing. As Steve Kerr says, there’s no defense against that, and he would know. Then after Smith misses a 3, Burke is fouled in transition as he was making another assertive move. That sends us to the under-12 timeout.

Michigan is quietly cratering. They have no answer for the Cardinals frontcourt, just as our surprisingly anti-business business editor Mr. Berman predicted. McGary was also wearing himself out defending from the high post before the third foul. Why?? Starting to wonder if any team has ever won an NCAA final with no paint points and nothing but bazonkers 3-pointers.

After Albrecht misses his first 3, Siva drives the lane and makes a tough finish. Down the other end Jordan Morgan is fouled on a dunk attempt, and the Cards are very fortunate it wasn’t assessed to Hancock, which would have been his fourth, Siva, Smith and Hancock all have three fouls. Now Hancock feeds Siva for the backdoor layup. Pretty.

Second time today that Luke Hancock has pump-faked and drawn a shooting foul on a three-pointer. Also the second time today that it’s been a big foul — the first was Burke’s second, this one is McGary’s fourth. Michigan fans boo. Louisville fans Luuuuuuuuuuuuke.

Siva steals a pass on the fastbreak by Burke, then takes it the distance for a terrific layup. Ooh! Hardaway throws down a nasty dunk. Next Hancock pump-fakes McGary into the air from 22 feet away and draws his fourth foul. Huge play. Hancock only makes one of the three FTs though.

After a Smith jumper puts the Cards up by five, Burke rights the Wolverines ship with a strong drive and the finish while getting fouled. He’ll have a free throw to make it a two-point game after the under-8 timeout.

McGary is the reason why Michigan is in the national championship, and even though the freshman could carry a Ford F-150 on his back while walking uphill, he hasn’t given the Wolverines a lift tonight: six points, four rebounds, four fouls in what’s easily his worst performance of the NCAA tournament.

Ouch! Burke drives hard to the hole and takes the body contact from Dieng, then lands on his face. Seriously, he landed on his face. That looked painful. But after about 20 seconds he gets up and heads to the line for two shots. He hits the second.

Siva is playing a whale of a game. He finishes an alley-oop from Hancock and then helps force a turnover in the backcourt. But the Cards don’t score, and Robinson jams it down the other end. What action.

Albrecht, who is fading badly, misses a layup and Siva goes up for a fastbreak layup. Burke makes a great block, but is called for the foul; I don’t like the call. But Siva hits them both. Next Dieng rattles in a turnaround inside and the lead is suddenly seven.

Beilein calls a timeout after a Robinson FT. The Wolverines do look tired; the press has taken a lot out of them. McGary is back in. But Dieng makes a nice hook shot on McGary, who didn’t want to pick up his fifth. Then Hardaway drives and is fouled by Dieng, which sends us to the under-4 timeout. Get set for a furious finish.

A bad break and some bad decisions by the Wolverines. After forcing a miss, Caris LeVert did rebound the ball for Michigan but had his foot out of bounds. Then the Wolverines wanted to foul, but didn’t, in part because Burke didn’t want to commit his fifth. Finally Hancock is fouled and makes both ends of a one-and-one. Huge shots.

Well, at least the entire Michigan team won’t be playing for the Grizzlies next year. In any case, I salute you, Dennis Berman. Dieng and Behanen won this game on the bench press. And Siva is a true talent (although I’d love to test him for Red Bull right about now). Enjoy the celebration, you Louisvillains.

What a weekend for Rick Pitino. On Saturday, his Cardinals overturned a 12-point second-half deficit against Wichita State to advance to his first NCAA final since 1997. That same day, a horse he co-owns won the Santa Anita Derby to become a frontrunner for the Kentucky Derby. Earlier today, he learned that he was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Tonight, he showed he’s far from done by winning his second NCAA championship, becoming the first coach to win titles at two different schools in the process.

Just like Saturday, Hancock was absolutely huge off the bench. But the Cardinals also got great performances from Siva, Behanan and Dieng to offset some uneven play by Smith. Pitino also used his timeouts quite well to keep Michigan from running away in the first half when Spike Albrecht was sinking shots from Buckhead.

Louisville needed everything it had to defeat a terrific Michigan team lead by Burke and Albrecht. All in all, it was an entertaining, high-energy, back-and-forth game. Glad you could join us.

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